Edgecomb Public Schools employees present petition asking board to adopt "meet and confer" process

At the Edgecomb Public Schools board meeting on March 9, more than 250 signatures from teachers, bus drivers, custodians and other school staff were presented asking the board to adopt a formal "meet and confer" negotiation process so employees can have "a seat at the table" when decisions affect working conditions.

"People doing the work in our schools deserve a seat at the table when decisions are being made about us without us," said Marcia Moy Williams, speaking on behalf of the Edgecomb County Association of Educators, as she introduced a spring petition that lists eight staff priorities. Williams and other speakers said the petition will grow to more than 500 signatures by April.

Speakers listed concrete priorities they want included in a meet-and-confer framework: fair and competitive salaries; protected planning periods for teachers; pay transparency (including how stipends and supplements are decided); optional remote work on optional work days and during inclement weather; twice-monthly pay for classified staff; lower health-insurance premium costs; and respect for contracted hours. "These are practical solutions that help recruit, retain, and respect the people who serve the students of Edgecomb County every single day," Williams said.

Several other speakers echoed those themes. Rakita Boon urged the board to include a common-sense policy on remote work so classified and certified staff can carry out planning, professional development and documentation from home when appropriate. Troy Cole emphasized pay transparency, saying employees "deserve clear, accessible information about how compensation decisions are made." James Bar highlighted rising health-insurance premium costs and said meet-and-confer would provide a structured opportunity for employee representatives and district leaders to discuss such impacts before decisions are finalized. Pauline Tucker asked that planning periods be protected "except in true emergencies," describing planning time as essential to instruction and student support.

An unnamed bus driver representing transportation and cafeteria staff described multiple job demands—driving, cleaning, lifting heavy trash bags—and said a meet-and-confer body would create an avenue to negotiate practical operational supports.

Board members did not take formal action on the petition during the meeting but a board member said they had contacted the North Carolina School Boards Association to research meet-and-confer policies; at the last update the member cited, Durham County was the only district in the state reported to have such a policy. The board agreed to gather additional background and to schedule further discussion or a presentation.

The petitioners said they will return with more signatures and asked the board to begin conversations on establishing a meet-and-confer process that would allow staff and district leadership to collaborate on working conditions and compensation clarity.

The board's next procedural step on this topic was left open; no vote or formal referral to a committee was recorded during the March 9 meeting.